When the Apricots Bloom

Rania and Huda make a blood oath to remain loyal to each other, swearing to keep no secrets and to suffer sadness if the oath is ever broken. Huda is from a lower social class than Rania and does not want to lose her friend. The oath itself is an imitation of those they have seen in American films, and they comment on how many foreigners they have seen in Baghdad.

Years later, Huda is now married to Abdul Amir, and they have a son named Khalid. She displays a portrait of Saddam Hussein in her home to show loyalty to the regime after she notices the mukhabarat, or secret police, walking by. Abu Issa, a member of the mukhabarat, comes in after his partner cuts the padlock on their door; the narrative subsequently refers to Abu Issa’s partner only as the Bolt Cutter. Huda offers the men tea. She works at the Australian embassy, and the mukhabarat want to know about the affairs of foreigners in Iraq and the countries that such foreigners represent. The two men ask about Huda’s boss, Deputy Ambassador Wilson, and his wife Ally, noting with disgust Western men’s tendency to confide in their wives.